Did India make a mistake by not playing Kuldeep Yadav in IND vs AFG 1st ODI?

Kuldeep Yadav is the frontline spinner for India in ODIs.

Indian Cricket Team clashed with the Afghanistan Cricket Team in the 1st ODI at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. Home skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first in the encounter, which was reduced to 25 overs per side due to rain.

Afghanistan didn’t have a kind of outing they would have wanted with bat. They lost wickets right from the start; however, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (102) was the lone fighter for them as he slammed a terrific century. Thanks to his innings, Afghanistan posted 194/10.

India’s playing XI selection raised quite a few eyebrows, especially when Kuldeep Yadav, who is the frontline spinner in the 50-over format, didn’t feature. Instead, they gave an opportunity to Harsh Dubey, who made his debut in the match.

Did India make a fault by not picking Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI?

No, India did not make a wrong choice by choosing Kuldeep in the playing XI. Harsh Dubey did a decent job in the clash. He remained a little costly at the start and made a good comeback by picking a three-wicket haul, which is quite impressive for a bowler on his debut. In his five-over spell, Dubey gave 47 runs and picked three wickets at an economy of 9.40.

Notably, the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala offers more assistance to pacers and despite being a spinner, Dubey stole the limelight with his performance. On the other hand, Kuldeep has been struggling in recent times. He also had poor IPL 2026, where he also got dropped from Delhi Capitals XI.

With ICC ODI World Cup 2027 next year, India will need a strong left-arm spinner. In such a scenario, preparing a backup for Kuldeep is a good plan.

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